DUBLIN -- Twenty-five years ago, 9-year-old Beth Ringheim walked into her father's Dublin home and into a horrific, bloody scene.

It was Jan. 24, 1986, and she had been dropped at the Brighton Drive house by her mother for a planned weekend visit. Inside, she found the bodies of Harve Ringheim, 41, a Pleasant Hill veterinarian, and her stepmother, Keiko, 29, on the family room floor.

Harve Ringheim had been stabbed multiple times in the head, neck and heart, and his hands were tied behind his back.

Keiko Ringheim had heavy duct tape binding her hands behind her back, her mouth was covered with a 2-inch strip of tape, and her head was in a bucket of water. She had been strangled to death.

Those responsible for the slayings have not been caught, but investigators say new leads prove that at least two men were involved in the killings. In addition, they also think the slayings were done by someone hired for the job.

For the family, the findings offer hope that someone might come finally come forward with the clue to solve the case, and they give them the closure and justice they want.

"It's a permanent hole," said Beth Ringheim, now 34. "We'll never have our dad back in our lives." Harve Ringheim had two daughters: Amy, now 38, and Beth.

Although the samples are not complete enough for identification, after new DNA sample testing, deputies with the Alameda County Sheriff's Cold Case unit now know at least two men were involved, said Sgt. Scott Dudek, who heads the unit. The unit took over the case from Dublin police because it is dedicated to solving older cases within the Sheriff's Office jurisdiction. Dublin contracts its police services with the county.Dudek said he thinks based on evidence and interviews with witnesses that there is a possibility it was murder for hire, with either the husband or wife the intended target.

"There is no doubt in my mind there was more than one, and there is no doubt in my mind (the perpetrators) were in the house an extended period of time," Dudek said.

He declined to discuss a possible motive.

Harve Ringheim operated Diablo View Veterinary Medical Hospital. Keiko Ringheim, who had been married to Harve for less than a year, came from Japan in 1978 as an exchange student sponsored by Ringheim and his ex-wife.

They had returned from a ski trip the day before they died. Witnesses said they last saw Harve Ringheim at a local carwash about 10 a.m. the day of the killings. Neighbors heading to work reported seeing a man on the lawn of the Ringheims' home between 7:30 and 8 a.m., but a composite sketch turned up no clues.

Dudek said the new DNA profiles are not substantial enough to run through the DNA databases, but with continuing improvements in forensic technology, Dudek said his investigators hope they might be able to one day.

Dudek said he hopes residents in the area at the time might step forward with information that might not have seemed important at the time.

"People do come forward after many years and give us information that is just huge," Dudek said.

Beth Ringheim said she appreciates the work the cold case is unit is doing, but she hopes that someone with information will come forward.

"It's providing more hope," she said. "It's still very discouraging though that no one is coming forward. "... It's really time for the rest of our family to move on."

There is a $50,000 governor's reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the people responsible in this case. Dudek asks anyone with information to call him at 510-667-7478.